Future Technologies
In Fate of the World, there are five fields of research; Biotech, Energy, Information, Materials, and Robotics. When a game begins, every region of the world starts out with a number of "points" in each field, indicating their level of advancement in the particular field. For example, a region that's up-to-date with energy technology but backwards with computer technology might start with an Energy value of 2020 and an Information value of 1990. Note that these values are not hardwired into the game; the values can be set for each individual mission. However, all the standard missions, including the downloadable Denial mission, start with these values. At the start of each turn, every region gets a number of points added to all five fields based on the region's HDI; rich, well-educated, and long-lived people research technologies faster. *HDI >= 0.95 = 5 points per turn *HDI < 0.95 and >= 0.9 = 4 points per turn *HDI < 0.9 and >= 0.85 = 3 points per turn *HDI < 0.85 and >= 0.8 = 2 points per turn *HDI < 0.8 = 1 point per turn GEO can speed advancement further with "Research Programme" cards. If there's any research programmes active in a region, the particular field of research gets an extra 2 points every turn (i.e. an HDI 0.95 region with a Biotech Research Programme would get 7 points in the Biotech field and 5 points in the rest every turn). When a region reaches a number of points in a field equal to or greater than the number of points required for a technology in that field, the region acquires that technology. For $50, GEO can help less advanced regions "Acquire" technologies, which sets the number of points in a field of research in the region to the exact value needed for the technology. Technology is researched and acquired in order: a region that hasn't developed 2nd Generation Biofuels must do so before it can develop or acquire 3rd Generation Biofuels. Things To Figure Out: Are the efficiency multipliers visible in the data files implemented, and how important are their effects? Do research values do anything except lead to discoveries, or is it just the speed of tech advancement that affects other things? As Fast As Possible: Because the technology of every region is tracked separately from that of every other region -- that is to say, regions don't share research -- multiple research programs of the same type don't allow for a faster first discovery of a technology. The earliest turn a tech can be discovered can be calculated by taking the original research date (shown below) and subtracting 2025 (five years are necessary to build tech offices in all regions) and dividing by 7, rounding up. The benefit of an early-game research program is therefore most visible in the late game. Ignoring the unobtainable Space Mirrors technology, 2nd Generation Nanotech and 2nd Generation Fusion are the latest game technologies and can be discovered up to ten turns earlier than they normally would be by research. 'Biotechnology Research Strand' (Original research date) ''2nd Generation Biofuels (2050) While 1st generation biofuels require using crops like wheat, corn, and sugar to create biofuels, 2nd generation biofuels are made from agricultural waste and crops that humans don't eat. Because of this, 2nd generation biofuels can be produced without using food supplies, though growing biofuel crops still takes up farmland. In addition, 2nd generation biofuels produce less emissions than 1st generation biofuels. ''High-Yield Crop Strains (2070) Crops that have been genetically modified to provide high yields with reduced needs for pesticides or fertilisers. Once a region has access to these crop strains, they can be implemented. A renewal card for $60 will randomly come up once a region starts using these strains, so the player must keep an eye out for it. ''3rd Generation Biofuels (2110) 3rd generation biofuels are made from genetically-modified vat-grown algae. The advantage of using algae rather than other plants is that they can produce considerably more energy for land area used. They don't affect fresh water supplies and can be grown in open ponds or out at sea. 3rd gen biofuels produce very high yields of synthetic oil and petrochemicals. If a region has access to both 3rd generation biofuels and 2nd generation nanotechnology, an agent in the region can implement biotic decontamination. This lowers toxicity in the region by 40%. ''Nano-Medicine (2175) The use of medical nano-bots to combat disease, toxins, and to increase the life expectancy of the population. In order to develop nano-medicine, a region needs to have access to 1st generation nanotechnology. On its own, nano-medicine technology does nothing; a GEO agent in the region needs to fund a Nano-Medicine Programme, which permanently sets the "incapacity_frac_base" of the region to 0.0001, essentially making death, sickness, or injury in the region nigh-on-impossible for as long as the card is played. While it does help increase the overall health of a region, it is typically not much help given how advanced the tech is and how expensive it is to keep funded. Also, given enough time the population would increasingly have a swelling Elderly population who demand resources (power, food, etc) but aren't contributing to the GDP, possibly straining the late-game balance. Note that this card does not affect things such as the mortality rate, which stems from environmental toxicity levels. Thus it likely won't have the expected significant impact on HDI in regions such as India or China. Nano-medical technology is, along with artificial intelligence and an operational space factory, one of the requirements for a Star Ark. 'Energy Research Strand' ''Cold Fusion (2011) Isn't reported and has no effects. Possibly a left over bit of scrapped code or an as-of-yet unimplemented technology. It is also possible it was included as a joke. Its description sarcastically states "seriously invest in them" which may be a reference to Cold Fusion's controversial reputation in mainstream science. ''Carbon Capture & Storage (2035) Carbon capture & storage (CCS) reduces emissions by capturing CO2 from fossil fuel power plants and storing it securely, preventing it from getting into the atmosphere and contribute to warming. The CO2 can be stored in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline formations, and unminable coal beds on land or at sea. Once a CCS system is broadly established, a region can use fossil fuels with less effect on warming. However, establishing the system takes decades. ''4th Generation Nuclear (Fast Breeder Reactors) (2040) Fast breeder reactors increase the amount of usable uranium a region has access to by "breeding" fuel from otherwise unusable uranium sources. This allows for a 78% increase in efficiency in uranium usage. However, these reactors can also be used to create weapons grade plutonium, making the technology dangerous in the hands of highly militant or unstable regions. ''Concentrated Photovoltaic Cell (2065) A region committing to renewables would normally only increase their use of solar energy by 0.0001% a turn and would be limited to only a 20% maximum. Concentrated solar photovoltaic cells enable significant expansions in solar power generation, making regions committing to renewables get three times as much solar energy expansion per turn and changing the limit to 50%. Concentrated solar photovoltaic cells are, along with supertensile materials and 1st generation nanotechnology, required for the creation of space solar collectors. ''1st Generation Fusion (2130) Opens the way to fusion power, a new source of clean, renewable energy. Fusion power has the potential to revolutionize the energy sector and end the threat of shortages, after the several decades that the stuff needs to trickle in. Fusion is more powerful in early versions of the game, where its deployment card adds a cool 1000 MWh per turn. The development of the technology does nothing on its own; an agent must initiate a card to "Deploy 1st Generation Fusion." This increases a region's use of fusion power by 0.0012% every turn. ''2nd Generation Fusion (2200) 2nd generation fusion reactors are cleaner, lighter, and more efficient, but require helium-3, an isotope that's rare on Earth but common on the moon. Once discovered, an agent in a region with this technology can "Deploy 2nd Generation Fusion." If lunar He3 extraction isn't being implemented, this only gives the region a 0.0036% increase in fusion power use every turn. However, if shipments of helium-3 are being delivered to Earth from the moon, this increases to 0.018% per turn. 'Information Technology Research Strand' ''Smart grids (2030) Smart grids are a way of hooking up electricity grids using two-way digital communications to make the most efficient use of the electricity. By distributing electricity more efficiently, smart grids reduce energy costs and, for a system reliant on fossil fuels, reduce emissions from the energy sector. Smart grids can also make energy systems more reliable by using real-time information from across the grid to fix outages. In the game, this technology has no mechanical effects on a region except being used as a stepping stone towards other information technology. ''Quantum Computing (2090) Raises productivity across all sectors, and readies the way for sentient machines. This tech gives a 20% boost to the GDPs per worker in a region's agricultural, commercial, and industrial sectors. Quantum computing, along with supertensile materials and 1st generation nanotechnology, is required for the construction of artificial biomes. ''Super-Smart Grids (2110) Enables maximum exploitation of renewable resources. Super-smart grids lower the amount of electricity required in the region by 15%. It does this by multiplying the energy used per worker in the agriculture, commerce, and industrial sectors and the energy used per residential houses by 0.85. Super-smart grids also allow for rapid and efficient expansion in renewable energy sources; it removes any limitations on solar, hydro, tidal, wind, and geothermal expansion and increases how much each of these power sources expand by per turn in regions that are committing to renewables. ''Artificial Intelligence (2150) Computer intelligences whose functioning exceeds human standards. This technology allows for the deployment of security, market, and meteorologist AIs (each $50/turn). Security AIs guarentee regional Stability and significantly lower Militancy by integrating with law enforcement and keeping an Orwellian watch over any possible dissidents. However, in regions that are already content, this drastic security measure will quickly become hated, lowering GEO support the longer it remains in operation. Market AIs are safeguards against a Financial Collapse crippling a Region. Any Region under the guidance of a Market AI will not suffer the massive unemployment or GDP crash that overstretched Commerce sectors frequently cause (especially when resources shortages occur). Market AIs have not been shown to increase the actual GDP or efficiency of a Region, though the data files show that they increase the GDP per worker "temp_product" in all three work sectors by "prod 2." This presumably makes all three work sectors in the region grow in turn with eachother, keeping the commercial sector from dominating the others and causing a collapse. In addition, according to the game files, if 6 regions (half the world) are running market AIs at once, a global financial collapse can't occur. Meteorological AIs ''help to alert the Region to impending disasters and to lessen the impact. As temperatures rise and disasters become more frequent, a Meteorologist AI will do all in its power to keep a Region's people out of harms way, raising their support for the GEO and minimizing the effects of the disaster. However, just as the disaster defenses can be overwhelmed, so too can the AI, so it is not going to stop everything. According to the game files, an active Meteorological AI lowers the severity of all droughts, floods, storms, and cases of erosion by -4. Artificial intelligence, along with nano-medicine and a functioning space factory, are required to construct the Star Ark. Regions with benthic depressurisation can use artificial intelligences to safely exploit clathrate deposits without fear of clathrate eruptions, a semi-"hidden" technology called Advanced Clathrate Extraction. 'Materials Research Strand' ''Advanced Drilling Techniques (2024) Advanced drilling techniques allow for greater exploitation of oil and gas and an increase in geothermal power potential. Mechanically, this technology allows for the exploitation of deep natural gas, provides a 5% increase in the amount of conventional oil that can be recovered, increases overall conventional oil production by 10%, and allows for greater and quicker expansions to geothermal energy. A region committing to renewables would normally only increase their use of geothermal energy by 0.0012% a turn and would be limited to only a 20% maximum. With advanced drilling techniques, regions committing to renewables get three times as much geothermal energy per turn and are limited to 50%. ''Supertensile Materials (2080) Supertensile materials are strong and durable yet very flexible, allowing for the creation of advanced constructions. This technology gives a 10% increase to the "max_robotspw" and a 2% increase to the "robot growth ceilings" of all three economic sectors. In addition, supertensile materials increase the potential for wind power generation. A region committing to renewables would normally only increase their use of wind energy by 0.00015%/turn and would be limited to a 20% maximum. With supertensile materials, regions committing to renewables get three times as much wind energy expansion per turn and are limited to 50%. ''1st-gen Nanotechnology (2125) 1st-generation nanotechnology allows complex molecules to be mass-assembled. 1st-generation nanotechnology allows for lunar helium-3 extraction, the colonization of the moon and Mars, the creation of synthetic feedstocks, the construction of artificial trees, and the biotechnological development of nano-medicine. 1st-generation nanotechnology is, along with photovoltaic cells, one of the requirements for space solar collections. Combined with quantum computing, 1st-generation nanotechnology also allows for the development of artificial biomes. According to the game files, many cards that require 1st-generation nanotechnology also require supertensile materials. This is strange, since all regions with 1st-generation nanotechnology already have supertensile materials. The requirement for both is probably left over from the stage in the game's development when Materials and Nanotech were two different research strands. ''2nd-gen Nanotechnology (2200) 2nd-generation nanotechnology permits the construction of autonomous microscopic robots capable of performing tasks far beyond human capability. Combined with 3rd-generation biofuel technology, 2nd-generation nanotechnology allows the toxicity of a region to be dramaticly lowered with biotic decontamination. Arguably more importantly, 2nd-generation nanotechnology allows for the possibility of mining asteroids, which in turn allow for the creation of an orbital space factory, which is required for the creation of the Star Ark. However, these advances have no other effect besides acting as stepping stones for a Star Ark victory. ''Space Mirror/Shields (9999) Isn't reported and has no effects. Possibly a left over bit of scrapped code or an as-of-yet unimplemented technology. It would require 1140 turns with a Materials Research Programme running constantly in a region with an HDI of 0.95 or more to achieve the research value needed for this technology. 'Robotics Research Strand' ''Stratospheric Aerosols (2050) A cheap but highly controversial technique to cool down the planet by deploying aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space, essentially decreasing the extra radiative forcing of the world. Deploying stratospheric aerosols is the only way to lower global temperature, and especially important once the Arctic circle starts to melt and release methane. However, regions with green outlooks will lose a lot of support if you deploy the aerosols in them. Eco-Fanatical regions can lose up to 5 hearts of support at a time. Also, suppressing temperature increases with stratospheric aerosols while atmospheric carbon levels continue to rise may create an imbalance in the global climate which results in decreased rainfall and increased risk of drought throughout many, if not most, regions of the world. This in turn can greatly increase water stress throughout the world; thus widespread stratospheric aerosol deployment should ideally be accompanied by even more widespread anti-drought and water management programs. ''Benthic Depressurisation (2070) Benthic depressurisation allows for the commercial exploitation of seabed methane clathrate deposits, creating a new source of natural gas. Unfortunately, clathrate deposits are highly unstable; there's a 5% chance per turn that a region can lose control of a clathrate deposit they're trying to mine. This causes the trapped methane to erupt from the ocean and spread into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas, causing an extreme temporary increase in extra radiative forcing. If a region has both benthic depressurisation and artificial intelligence technologies, the region unlocks the semi-hidden "Advanced Clathrate Extraction" technology, allowing AIs to monitor clathrate mining processes. This completely nullifies the chance of clathrate eruptions in the region. Because of the danger clathrate eruptions pose to the environment, it's often a good strategy to globally ban clathrate mining early on and then steadily lift the ban in regions that have artificial intelligence technology. ''Advanced Turbines (2090) Turbines are the key to power generation as we know it and advances in them brings change across the whole energy sector. This technology increases the energy efficiency of coal, gas, oil, and uranium power sources by 10%. In addition, advanced turbines increase the potential for tidal and hydroelectric power generation. A region committing to renewables would normally only increase their use of hydro energy by 0.03%/turn (and would be limited to a 70% maximum) and increase their use of tidal energy by 0.0006%/turn (and would be limited to a 20% maximum). With advanced turbines, regions committing to renewables get three times as much hydro and tidal energy expansion per turn and would increase the hydro energy limit to 80% and the tidal energy limit to 50%. ''Thermo-Ionic Desalination (2140) Thermo-ionic desalination allows seawater to be purified with very low energy input. By itself, this technology does nothing; an agent is required to fund a "Desalination Programme" in the region with this technology. Every turn that the programme runs, the amount of freshwater the region has access to increases by 5%. This is expensive, but it's often the only way to fight water stress in arid regions that can't sustain themselves, such as North Africa, the Middle East, and India. ''Unimplemented Data'' 'Hidden Research Strands' In addition to the five research strands used in the game, the data files for Fate of the World include references to several other fields of research that aren't used in the game. It's likely these strands were scrapped and merged into the five current strands. *'Fossil Fuels' *'Genetics' *'Geoengineering' *'Nanotech' *'Nuclear' *'Renewables' *'Space' 'Hidden Technologies' Along with hidden research strands, the data files include references to technologies that aren't directly used in the game. Despite none of these technologies ever being implemented, the data files show that each region has different "access" to them in the same way they would a normal technology; North America, Europe, China, Japan, and Oceania have access to all the hidden technologies (with the exception of Oceania lacking Electric Cars) while the other regions are missing some. *'1st-Generation Biofuels' - The use of food crops such as corn and wheat to create biofuels. All 12 regions have this technology. *'3rd-Generation Nuclear Reactors' - Advanced light water nuclear reactors. Only North Africa lacks this technology. *'Electric Cars' - Cars that run completely on electric power alone. Oceania is the only developed region that lacks this technology. *'Hybrid Cars' - Cars that run on both fuel oil and electric power. *'The Internet' - A global network of computers. Along with the developed regions, South Asia has this technology. *'Moon Landing' - The ability to land spacecraft on the moon. Along with the developed regions, Latin America, Russia, and South Asia have this technology. *'Next Generation Reactors' - Unknown, as there's no clue as to what kind of reactor its refering to. Interestingly, instead of tagging this technology with a "1" to indicate if a region has it, the game files list it with a "3." Every region outside of Africa has this technology. *'Offshore Windfarms' - Windfarms built in the sea instead of on land. *'Orbital Weapons' - Military weapons capable of being deployed from Earth orbit. Along with the developed regions, Latin America, Russia, and South Asia have this technology. *'Concentrated Solar Power (Solar CSP)' - The use of mirrors and lenses to concentrate sunlight onto a heat engine to produce energy. *'Solar Photovoltaics (Solar PV)' - Concentrating sunlight on solar photovoltaic material, making solar generation less expensive and more efficient. This technology is actually used in the game, but only after being researched (see above). Along with the developed regions, South Asia has this technology. *'Uranium Via Phosphates' - Extraction of usable uranium from phosphate minerals. Along with the developed regions, Latin America, Russia, India, and South Asia have this technology. 'Tech Timetable'